Space Engineers update 01.021.024 has been released today. Survival mode is now available. This is the first version of the Survival mode. This means that there are going to be many fixes and optimizations within the upcoming updates until it comes to a more complete state.
This video tutorial demonstrates the basic functions of the Survival mode – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5PgmvtRHZU

There are also changes on the way of building a small ship. Players can now start by placing a landing gear which can be attached to any surface – instead of a light armor block cube which was before.

Moreover, there are new game scenarios available (Crashed Red Ship, Lone Survivor, Two Platforms), new music and sounds and tons of new features related to the Survival mode.

Below is the full list of all the new features and fixes included in the new update.

Features
– survival mode (manual building, death, re-spawn)
– new game scenarios: Crashed Red Ship, Two Platforms, Lone Survivor, Asteroids
– ore detector block
– ore detector in hand drill
– new custom world screen
– new assembler screen
– world generator change: most asteroids have iron core
– assembler can be switched to disassembling mode
– new assembler production queue hotkeys: Ctrl+click (adds stack of 10) and Shift+click (adds stack of 100)
– placing new ship block – now you can place a landing gear which can be attached to any surface instead of a light armor block cube
– reduced electricity production and consumption
– reduced uranium consumption
– reduced available uranium after starting a new game
– block info in Cube Builder screen and when placing a new block in Survival
– explosives component
– new music and sounds
– changed tools animations
– floating objects can be destroyed
– HUD is now more legible
– balanced materials required for assembling components
– changed mass and volume of some components and tools
– changed ore and ingot display unit from volume to mass
– Join game screen (contains a list of games which the player can join)
– game runs in window mode when it is unable to run in full screen
– character can now walk on a ship when it’s flying in max speed
– inventory names now show the name of the block

All the updates that have been added into the game until now are available in the Change log list – http://forums.keenswh.com/?forum=326211

For more details about the development of the “Survival mode”, you can read Marek Rosa’s blog post: http://blog.marekrosa.org.

Space Engineers is available for purchase on the developer’s web site: www.SpaceEngineersGame.com/buy.html, on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/244850 and at several other online distribution services.

Space Engineers is in alpha stage of development. Everything in the game is subject to change.

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About Space Engineers:
Space Engineers is a sandbox game about engineering, construction and maintenance of space works. Players build space ships and space stations of various sizes and utilization (civil and military), pilot ships and perform asteroid mining.